Pleasure Notes

8-30-10

The end of summer is fast approaching so steal a moment today, if you can, to step outside, look around and soak it all in… You can extend a moment into a mini-vacation at any time.

I still have no idea why baseball is considered our national pastime, but I did learn many other fascinating things during my recent venture to the ballpark. Before I share them, I should clarify that the game I attended was played by the Dodgers and the Reds, at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles. I honestly have no clue where the Reds came from but I liked the colors in their uniforms. And the Dodgers beat them so… YAY!

by The Suss-Man / flickr

LESSONS LEARNED

1. Watching sporting events from a private suite is good. The chairs are on wheels. You can pretend you’re in your living room by lounging on one of the plush couches and watching the game from one of the 8 or so TV monitors located at convenient angles. You can still participate in The Wave if you choose to acknowledge the masses. Tons of free food, including Dodger Dogs, is available. I guess it’s not technically free, as someone has to pay for it, but I don’t have to see the $10 bill for a bag of peanuts. There’s a DESSERT CART*.
2. *Dessert carts are good. This revelation deserved it’s own mention. It seems that, in the swanky, silent hallways outside the luxury boxes, an overburdened dessert cart roams. On it, one can discover all kinds of delicacies including a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE that is truly obscene. I, who routinely can consume an entire chocolate chip cookie in one gobble, could only eat half of this sugar-shock-inducing baked good. I didn’t even take a picture for fear of breaking my camera (and because I didn’t bring my camera, but that’s beside the point). This cookie contained chocolate chips, chocolate chunks and other forms of chocolate the likes of which I’ve never seen. Ridiculous.
3. Most baseball players no longer stand in solidarity with skinny-jean-wearing women. It turns out that most baseball players have abandoned the tights-and-socks look for a more forgiving baggy-yoga-pant uniform. I found this dismaying. My allegiance to football players is now strengthened. Please remind me of this in January.
4. Charlie Sheen is polite. He said “excuse me” to help me avoid face-planting directly into him as I walked out a door. He also looks older than the air-brushed version of him I drive by on my way to work, which makes me feel better when a notice yet another wrinkle wave at me in the mirror.
5. The 7th Inning Stretch happens quickly. I missed it entirely while engrossed in a conversation about yoga with another fan.
6. Shelling peanuts creates a mess. But it’s entirely worth it.

In conclusion, I’m thinking I may attempt to attend more sporting events in the future, as an educational experience if nothing else.

Also, there’s just something about watching men chasing after balls, and occasionally taking great leaps that reveal impressive athleticism, while a warm summer breeze blows under an almost full moon…

by Shutter Daddy / flickr

I’m off to a baseball game this evening. I know virtually nothing about how the game is played.

But there are Cracker Jacks and a time out for stretching. So what if I’m the only one who does a sun salutation at this point in the game.

I like how some of the athletes look in their little leggings, but appreciate that baseball uniforms are to men what skinny jeans and bubble skirts are to women – very few individuals actually look good in them.

I will be wearing my skinny jeans in solidarity.

I thought my life would settle into a manageable pattern after I returned from vacation. Actually, I still (vainly?) hang on to that belief. But, at the moment, things are anything but calm. I feel like one of those mad scientist’s experiments gone haywire – explosions and short circuits everywhere – so many things do to, places to be, people to see! It’s exhilarating but I’m exhausted and spread thinner than I’d like.

I came home from work today and decided to do some stretches on the floor. Instead, I fell asleep. In the middle of the floor. Still in my work clothes. Mid-stretch, even. Oops.

I could have comfortably stayed there all night if the fear of awakening with splinters instead of sheet creases marring my cheeks hadn’t propelled me to get up.

How do you keep up your energy and enthusiasm when there’s just not enough of you to go around?

8-16-10

Red always makes me think of passion. And blood. But mostly passion.

So what are you feeling passionate about today?